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Bush marches through Georgia

Leading GOP candidate brings 'compassionate conservatism' theme to state

Posted: Saturday, August 28, 1999

By Dave WilliamsStaff Writer

Republican presidential front-runner George W. Bush explained to an audience of Georgia supporters Friday what he means by his campaign theme of ''compassionate conservatism,'' a phrase already so worn it has entered America's political lexicon.

''I'm running because I want our political party to match our conservative mind with a compassionate heart,'' the Texas governor said at a luncheon fund raiser in Smyrna, one of several stops in his first campaign trip to the Peach State.

During a stopover in Cobb County, the candidate also toured an interfaith charitable organization's homeless shelter in Marietta.

He topped off the day with a second, private fund raiser in Greene County where about 20 people met him at the Greene County Regional Airport. After a brief handshaking session, he and his entourage hustled off to Reynolds Plantation, an upscale resort on Lake Oconee.

Joining Bush was Mercer Reynolds, chairman of Reynolds Plantation, and Bill DeWitt, a managing partner of the St. Louis Cardinals professional baseball team. Bush used to own part of the Texas Rangers, another pro baseball franchise.

At the luncheon, Bush was interrupted repeatedly by enthusiastic applause as he touched on a number of issues popular with the Republican faithful, including the need for a strong national defense, less government regulation of business, reform of the legal system and local control of schools.

But he saved some of his strongest oratory for the subject of taxes, praising congressional Republicans for pushing a large tax-cut bill through the House despite a veto threat from President Clinton.

Again, Bush referred to the issue in terms of his campaign mantra.

''It's conservative to cut taxes,'' he said. ''It's compassionate to give people their money back so they can save, dream and build.''

Earlier, at a center run by the Ministries United for Service and Training, Bush said such faith-based organizations are playing an important role across America in serving the needy and should be supported with federal funds.

Bush's visit to Georgia was preceded earlier in the week by a slew of endorsements from state Republican leaders, including all five GOP statewide elected officials; U.S. Reps. Saxby Chambliss, R-Moultrie, and Nathan Deal, R-Gainesville; and a host of state legislators.

''This is a candidate who has clicked,'' said state Republican Chairman Chuck Clay, who is not endorsing any GOP candidate because of his position with the party but attended Friday's luncheon. ''When you look at his polling numbers at the grassroots level around the nation, they are strong and getting stronger.''

Rep. Charlie Norwood, R-Evans, a longtime Bush supporter who preceded the governor to the luncheon podium, said he became convinced of Bush's electability last fall when he came to Augusta to campaign for Sen. Paul Coverdell, R-Ga.

''I watched him work my people back home, and I knew right then that this was the man for me,'' Norwood said.

A criticism that Bush's Republican opponents have leveled for months is that he has not gotten specific enough on the issues. But on Friday, he ticked off his stands on several proposals related to gun control, an issue that has come to the political forefront recently following shooting sprees across the country, including in Conyers and Atlanta.

Bush backed legislation pending in Congress that would require instant background checks of prospective gun buyers at gun shows, raising the legal age for buying a gun and banning certain large ammunition clips.

''Those are reasonable measures ... to keep guns out of the hands of people who shouldn't have them,'' he said.

Bush's day in Georgia turned out to be profitable. More than 250 people paid $1,000 a plate for the luncheon. Campaign aides said the later fund-raiser in Greene County, the final stop in a Southern campaign swing, put the campaign over $1 million for the three-day trip.